A comprehended god is no god.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Gospel for the Gerasenes

Sermon
for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 7

22
June 2013

Year
C

On the morning I was going to be ordained
my younger brother left this post on my facebook page:

Disappointed and
concerned… my brother is being ordained today… he has no exorcism training… no
anti-vampire or werewolf training. You can forget Zombie apocalypse training…
Looks like I’ll be on point today identifying potential ‘Daywalker
threats’!!!

Now to be sure he did end his post with
“…In all seriousness though, I’m proud of you Steve.” He was joking. But he
raises a good question, how does one know if they are ready for ministry? So when
Father Mark asked if I’d like to preach today, on stories full of demons, I was
glad for the opportunity to reflect on this question. In response I would like
us to consider together three corresponding points. First, we need a strong
foundation that readies us for action, second, we need to remember that ministry
is a community effort, and third, our communities are called to be about
kingdom work. First we will discuss our need of a strong foundation that
readies us for action.

This is made clear in the Collect for
today (a collect is a prayer that helps gather the people of God together):

O LORD, make us
have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom youhave set upon the sure foundation of your
loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It
is a simple truth but one that can evade us. “… you never fail to help and
govern those whom you have set upon the
sure foundation of your loving-kindness.” What is our foundation? We are
set upon the sure foundation of God’s loving-kindness in Christ Jesus. In fact,
Jesus is the loving-kindness of God in action. How is Jesus Christ our
foundation and how are we readied for ministry? You are probably familiar with
this great hymn of the Church:

The
Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord, she is His new creation by water and the Word. - Words
by Samuel J. Stone, Music by Samuel S. Wesley

Jesus is made our sure foundation
through belief in Jesus as the incarnate Word of God and through the waters of
baptism. In baptism we are made members of Christ’s Body, the community of all
faithful believers, and gifted by the Holy Spirit for ministry.

Next, it is important to remember that
ministry is a community effort. In the first reading, we hear about Elijah and
some of the troubles he was facing. He had committed murder and rightly fears
for his life. He pulls, what some would term, a ‘geographic’, thinking that he
can leave his troubles behind. Unfortunately, our troubles have a tendency of
following us. Eventually, we have to face them. Facing our difficulties can be
made easier if we are part of a community.

Perhaps some of Elijah’s problems were
due to his poor mental state. It is important for the Church to talk about
mental health issues from time to time and help reduce the stigma and fear
often associated with mental illness. Was Elijah suffering from severe
depression or some other kind of mental distress or illness? The following
early warning signs of mental illness are combined with what the text tells us
about Elijah’s behavior and feelings:

·Eating or sleeping too much or
too little – Elijah had trouble sleeping under the broom tree, after the
messenger brought him food he went back to sleep again; then he went without
food for 40 days.

·Pulling away from people and
usual activities – he left the city, everyone he knew, and isolated in the
wilderness.

·Feeling numb or like nothing
matters – Elijah wanted to die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away
my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.”

·Having persistent thoughts and
memories you can’t get out of your head – Elijah replayed the same tape in his
head over and over again, he could not think of anything else.

·Feeling helpless
or hopeless – Elijah saw no solution to his problems. He felt abandoned.

God
did not abandon Elijah, but appeared to him in the sheer silence. Elijah was
given a job to do for the good of the people and his own good. He later returns
and anoints new and better King’s over Israel and Aram. He found a companion to
share in his work and eventually to take up his mantle of leadership after he
was gone. He learned that he was not alone. He learned that ministry is a
community effort. He found improved mental health through connecting with
others and helping others build up the kingdom.

We are also called to participate in
building up of the kingdom. It is God’s desire that we live an abundant life, one
of health and wholeness, which is what the Hebrew’s called shalom. Yet we know
people that are troubled by demons, past trauma or abuse, face biological
factors, or have a family history of mental health problems. The Gospel story
is about healing and mental health.

Mark Allan Powell’s book, Introducing the New Testament, helps place
stories about demons in perspective. Powell states, “Healing stories overlap
considerably with accounts of exorcism. In the Bible, possession by an evil
spirit does not cause a person to become sinful or immoral; rather, it causes
the person to become blind or deaf, to have seizures or be crippled, or to
experience some other sort of physical or emotional distress.”

There was a man who once lived in the
city among family, friends, and neighbors. How he came to be plagued by demons we
are not told. What we do know is that his poor mental health caused him to live
in isolation. He became homeless. He may even have tried to hurt himself. He
feared God was against him. When asked his name all he could talk about was the
legion of problems in which he felt trapped.

Jesus healed him. The word Luke uses
here for healing can also mean “salvation.” Healing is a sign of God’s
salvation. Salvation is at the heart of Luke’s Gospel. After meeting Jesus the
man was restored – to relationship with God, with himself, and with his
community. Even though some in his community were a little uncomfortable with
someone who had been plagued by mental health problems, Jesus asked him to
return home. Now clothed in his right mind he was filled with gratitude and told
everyone who would listen about what Jesus had done for him.

Both Elijah and the man from the
country of the Gerasenes had their share of problems. God’s loving-kindness
served as their foundation. In community they found an end to their isolation.
They found companionship. They found greater peace. They were asked to
participate in the building up of the kingdom. May we also find our home, our
foundation in God’s loving-kindness, and answer God’s call to participate in
the building up of the kingdom, for our own good and the good of all people.

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About Me

In baptism we are buried with Christ and given the power to live as children of God.
Beloved and gifted by his Spirit we are each called to prayerfully speak and act on behalf of him whose rule is just and will is love.